Exam 4 (Part 2) Chemical Senses/ Perception Flashcards
Chemical Senses
Smell and Taste
Olfactory Perception
Sense of smell
Olfactory structures
Nose, naval cavities, and upper part of throat
Stimulus for olfactory system
Airborne chemicals
Gustatory Perception
Taste perception
Gustatory structures
Mouth
Stimulus for gustatory system
Chemicals in solution
Receptors for gustatory system
Taste buds (thousands in the mouth)
Taste system detects only a few elementary sensations
Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami (savory)
Touch structures
Skin
Touch stimulus
Physical pressure
transduction occurs where (touch)
Receptors in or just below the skin
The skin encodes the intensity of a stimulus by…
- Firing rate of individual neurons
- Number of neurons stimulated
2 principles of organization
- Figure ground
- Grouping
Figure-ground
- We organize stimuli into a figure against a background
- Sticks out (salient feature)
Grouping
- Putting things together (forming a group)
- 4 Principles: similarity, proximity, closure, continuity
Similarity
- Similar elements (common feature)
- Look alike
Proximity
- Closer objects or events are to one another
- Perceived as belonging together
Closure
- Filling in missing contours to form a complete object
Continuity
- Create a continuous form
- Continuous pattern